Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency—or DOGE—have been granted access to a sensitive Treasury Department payment system that contains the personal information of every American who receives tax refunds, Medicare, Social Security, and other payments from the government.
Newly approved Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Musk surrogates access to the system late on Friday, five people familiar with the situation toldThe New York Times. Bessent’s decision came the same day as news that David Lebryk, a career Treasury official who was acting secretary before Bessent’s confirmation, would step down after arguing with DOGE members over access to the system run by the Bureau of Fiscal Service that pays out over $6 trillion a year.
“Sources tell my office that Treasury Secretary Bessent has granted DOGE *full* access to this system,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote on social media on Saturday. “Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies. All […]
There have been concerns about the imperial presidency since Richard Nixon. There were some efforts at reform following Watergate; however, all of the safeguards were blown past after 9/11. The past 24 years have witnessed unprecedented power accumulated by the Executive branch. The warnings many of us voiced were ignored due to “National Security” concerns. Now guess what? The Republic is in peril due to this imperial Presidency which has been fed by both Democrats and Republicans. DOGE has neither congressional authorization nor a budget. It is an “agency” created solely from the minds running the Executive branch. What you are about to learn, dear reader, is how impotent Congress has become. Because we live in such a non-representative Republic there is little hope of change. Maybe a leader will emerge from Congress, but it is doubtful given the sclerotic nature of the system where you can’t accumulate power until you are over 60 years old. Don’t like what you’re seeing? You will have to change the structure. Think outside the box.